Official launch of an innovative new app for WMC.

The highly anticipated release of ModernMedia UI+ has finally arrived. Developing the modern theme for Windows Media Center has been an ongoing process of designing, testing, and perfecting in order to make a better UI. It is the result of thousands of hours of development time. Whether you're still running Windows 7 or have the latest Windows 10, now you can enjoy a clean, contemporary design with lots of new features for the ultimate Media Center experience.

Getting Started

It is recommended to close Windows Media Center and any Extender sessions before beginning. Download the installer and complete the setup process. After installation, launch the program. On startup, files used by Media Center will be backed up, and the latest resources for the modern theme will be downloaded and applied automatically. The first time this process runs will take approximately five to ten minutes. Once complete, you can change the settings as desired and then open WMC to view the results.

What's New

Many of the updates and additions have been detailed previously. There are also a few more features you might find useful.

New Aspect Modes

With the creation of four new aspect modes, you will have nearly every option imaginable to view content in your preferred format.

Wide: Slightly increases width of video while maintaining height.

Partial Zoom: Enlarges video to 14:9 aspect ratio. The top and bottom of the video will be cropped.

Squeeze: Reduces width of 16:9 content to fit the space of a 4:3 aspect ratio. Useful for restoring the original aspect ratio in sources that incorrectly stretch 4:3 content.

Custom: Designed for use with native 4:3 content. Generates pillarboxes decorated with a channel logo if available.

Video Filters and Effects

Apply a specific color filter to the current video or select one of the new video effects, which provides an assortment of video transformations including multiple rotation modes and various animations.

Functions / Commands

Accessibility has been improved with quick commands that enable you to take full control of the playback experience. Here are some new functions that are accessible only by using the specified keyboard shortcuts:

Restart Playback (Ctrl+S) - Begins playback at the start of the current media.

Aspect (Shift+A) - Cycles through the available video aspect modes, including the addition of four new modes as detailed above.

Load Cast & Crew Info (Ctrl+D) - Retrieves IMDb biographical data for an individual when their name is focused in the Cast & Crew list.

In addition to the many changes already noted, numerous tweaks, enhancements and revisions have been made across the interface. Take a look around to see if you find anything else!

Extras

For users who support the project with a minimum contribution, an activation code will be provided to enable extra features that are not available in the free evaluation edition of ModernMedia UI+. Extras include the option to browse from a list of recent channels and support for dual live TV buffers when your system is configured properly. Additional features are in development and will be enabled exclusively for activated installations in a future release.

To activate your copy, click the "Get Activation Code" button on the ModernMedia UI+ product page and make a contribution via PayPal. Your support helps ensure long-term viability of the application and covers the costs of continued development and maintenance.